We have been reporting instances wherein Aadhaar data of Indian citizens were found on various portals belonging to the Govt.

Since last few months, we have been reporting instances wherein Aadhaar data of Indian citizens were found on various portals, that too belonging to the Govt.

UIDAI, the nodal authority on Aadhaar, had been either denying the allegations or saying that there is nothing to worry.

However, now, the decks have been cleared. UIDAI has admitted that 210 Govt. websites indeed showcased private Aadhaar data.

Meanwhile, very few are aware, but UIDAI has provided a feature using which you can lock your Aadhaar biometric access of data, which will ensure that no unauthorized usage happens.

We will shortly reveal the method..

UIDAI: Aadhaar Data Displayed On 210 Govt. Websites

After a person filed a RTI query to UIDAI, regarding the public display of Aadhaar data, UIDAI replied that 210 Govt. websites have showcased such data, by accident.

In their reply, UIDAI said,

“However, it was found that approximately 210 websites of central government, state government departments including educational institutes were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public,”

However, UIDAI has cautioned that locking your Aadhaar biometric access can ‘prevent denial of Authentication services’. This is strange, because UIDAI themselves have stated that this can be temporarily unlocked, when there is some actual authentication to be done.

Once locked, you can also disable this option, right there (after another OTP based verification).

Some users on Reddit India have claimed that once locked, access to biometric authentication becomes tough.

Hence, it seems that system is not yet completely fine-tuned, and locking biometric access feature has some issues right now.

In case you have any urgent biometric authentication requirement, then we will not suggest using this, as UIDAI themselves are not sure about this.

Mohul keenly observes the nuances of Indian startup world; and tries to demystify the secrets behind Technology, Marketing, Mobile and Internet. He is a Writer by passion, Marketer by choice and Entrepreneur by compulsion. Follow him on Twitter here: @_mohul